BOYS BASKETBALL: Greencastle-Antrim rallies to edge Waynesboro

WAYNESBORO — As it turned out, the headlining act was well worth the wait.

Scheduled as the showcase game of Friday night's Franklin County Tip-Off Tournament, the boys basketball contest between Greencastle-Antrim and Waynesboro certainly didn't disappoint, with the Blue Devils putting together a late rally en route to a 55-49 victory.

After overcoming an eight-point deficit at halftime to carry a 43-42 lead into the fourth quarter, G-A's composure proved to be the difference down the stretch, answering each Waynesboro score before delivering the decisive blow with 48 seconds remaining.

Tied at 49-49, Joel Zola's putback on a frantic inbound play granted the Blue Devils (1-0) a 51-49 advantage, with a missed 3-point attempt on the other end forcing the Indians (0-1) to foul in order to regain possession.

From here, G-A's Zach Faulkner handled the rest, knocking down both ensuing free throws before converting a steal into an easy lay-in, ultimately sealing the victory.

With the win, the Blue Devils now have the opportunity to defend their tournament title of a year ago against Chambersburg, who defeated James Buchanan in Friday's opening round, in tonight's championship game set to begin at 8:30 back inside the WASHS gymnasium.

"I never thought we were going to lose the game, we just couldn't seem to get clicking," G-A head coach Gary Martin said. "We would make two or three bad plays, and then they would make one or two buckets to stay right in it. Waynesboro played well and they were ready to beat us. Fortunately, we were able to pull it out in the end."

Although the Blue Devils managed to escape, it was the Indians who arguably made the biggest statement in Friday's season opener.

Despite failing to close out its opponent, Waynesboro had G-A on the ropes throughout all four quarters, showcasing an inspired effort against one of the area's premiere programs.

Unfortunately, the Indians' reward is a spot in today's consolation game against JB set to tip off at 5:30.

"We didn't lose the game, they went out and won it," Waynesboro head coach Tom Hoffman said. "We think we're better, but you have to go out and win. The only thing that is really going to insure our improvement is to win. Plenty of positives, it's a little bit of a moral victory, but it still goes in the wrong column."

Early on, the Blue Devils appeared to seize initial control, with Zola wasting little time assuming his expanded scoring role by netting 11 of his game-high 17 points in the first quarter, resulting in an 18-15 G-A lead at the end of one.

Unfazed, five consecutive points from Connor Fetterhoff abruptly shifted the momentum, with Waynesboro going on to outscore G-A 19-8 in the second stanza, capped by a baseline 3 from James Bennett to give the Tribe a 34-26 lead at the half.

Page 2 of 2 - The advantage stood until late in the third, when Holden Baker provided the Blue Devils with a spark off the bench, bucketing five points as part of G-A's 7-0 run to close out the quarter, reclaiming the lead at 43-42.

A floater by Zola to open the fourth briefly extended the slim cushion before Seth Hoffman buried his second 3 of the night to knot the score at 45-45. The back-and-forth tussle continued as a Brandon Puffenbarger jumper was answered by a Shaquill Smith runner in the lane, again drawing Waynesboro even at 49-49 with two minutes remaining.

Following a G-A timeout at 1:15, a foul called on the Indians underneath set up the pivotal inbound play, and consequently, Zola's putback off his own miss, giving the Blue Devils a lead they would not relinquish.

After surrendering 34 points in the first 16 minutes, G-A held Waynesboro to just five field goals in the second half, outscoring the Indians 29-15 over the final two quarters.

Faulkner, who was forced to miss nearly seven minutes of action after picking up his fourth foul midway through the third, still finished with 15 points in the win. Puffenbarger acted as the third Blue Devil to reach double figures, ending with 10 points and six rebounds.

Fetterhoff paced Waynesboro with a team-high 13 points followed by 10 from Tim Ingram. In all, the Indians received contributions from seven different players, including Smith, Hoffman, Bennett, Devonte Montgomery and Ryan Kelley.